


Unconventional

by Left4Shade-Due (ShadeDuelist)



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-19
Updated: 2012-08-19
Packaged: 2017-11-12 11:48:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/490576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeDuelist/pseuds/Left4Shade-Due
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the same for every relationship.  Not all days are sunshine and roses.  Sometimes a storm comes around and you're left feeling bad.  That's the same for Bruce Banner and Tony Stark.  However, they still have Pepper to mediate between them and be the force that binds them when they need it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unconventional

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zphal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zphal/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift for the author and artist that was and is my number one inspiration, though he has since moved on from the fandom I'm still moving inside of. I am talking, of course, about the incomparable Zphal. Many happy returns, my friend, and may today be the first of an entire year's worth of days filled with happiness and joy, good health and good fortune all round... so I can wish you the exact same next year. Enjoy this, my little gift to you!

Pepper Potts came up to the loft to find a shouting match in full course. Tony stood on one side of the living room, holding a few sheets of paper, and Bruce stood on the other side, glaring at the scientist.  
  
“I’m not going!”  
  
“Like hell you’re not, Bruce, I spent months trying to get you in!”  
  
“Are you seriously going to make me?”, Bruce snorted incredulously – Pepper half expected Tony to negotiate his way around admitting that no, he wouldn’t, but apparently this went a lot deeper than a normal heated dispute, because Tony  _stood his ground_ .  
  
“If I have to drug you, drag your ass to Santa Monica, speak for you the whole conference while you’re in a drug-induced half-comatose state and then fight you when you wake up again – then that’s what I’ll do! This is going to happen whether you like it or not!” The overwhelming urge to run for cover overcame Pepper, and Bruce’s eyes seemed to flash a brilliant, almost breathtaking shade of green – a  _dangerous_  shade of green – for a split second, but then the scientist turned his back on his lover, clearly keeping himself in check with some difficulty.  
  
“No, Tony. You can try, but I’m not going!” He stomped slightly as he walked to the elevator Pepper had just vacated, not even taking notice of her as he boarded it.  
  
“FINE!!”, Tony shouted, exasperated, throwing the papers into the air. “RUIN this opportunity, see if I care!!” He then stomped off as well, to his personal workshop, slamming the door and leaving Pepper standing alone in the living room, stunned and wondering what the hell she’d just witnessed. Grabbing one of the papers from the floor, she looked at it. To her surprise, it was an invitation for the two men to attend a physics convention in Santa Monica the next month – a full invitation, with the stay and expenses included, even. It only confused her even more: why would an invitation for the both of them spark an argument?  
  
She needed to get to the bottom of this. Looking back and forth between the closed workshop door and the closed elevator doors, she sighed and walked back to where she’d come from. Tony needed calming down the most for the moment – plus, her long-time lover always had JARVIS to talk some sense into him. Bruce… she’d seen the look on his face as he passed her, and there was more hurt than actual anger in those eyes of his. He needed a talk and perhaps some comfort the most.  
  
***  
  
“…Go away…”, came the muffled voice from the lab, but Pepper Potts never was one to allow herself to be stopped. She knocked again and spoke up.  
  
“Bruce, come on, I just want to hear what this is all about…” Silence followed, and she was just about to walk off and get the master key so she could just unlock the door when she heard a clicking sound, followed by Bruce’s face appearing in the sliver the door opened. He looked like a man that had missed sleep for weeks – bleary-eyed and white-faced with exhaustion. If anything, it showed clearly just how wracked with adrenaline he was, and it made Pepper feel even more happy of his steel willpower and almost rock-solid control of himself. “…Can I come in and sit down?”, she asked, and he shrugged. That made her more afraid than even his fleeting heartbeat of anger, that flash of brilliant green that indicated his teetering on the edge of turning. Because it showed a certain pained nonchalance that he normally did not possess. He walked ahead of her, taking a seat behind his desk with her on the edge of it, looking slightly down at him. “…I saw something about a convention?”, she started, and Bruce sighed.  
  
“Tony took the liberty of getting us both invited to a physics convention hosted by the Institute of Innovative Energy and Technology in Santa Monica, and he ‘forgot’ that I don’t do conventions anymore, not since…” He fell silent suddenly and just pressed a hand to his forehead, indicating tension. “…Anyway, he kindly informed me that we’re leaving next week today. He’d even arranged for everything without me!”  
  
“Bruce…”, Pepper said, trying to get him to look at her, but apparently the scientist was on a roll now, venting to her.  
  
“…I mean, it’s bad enough that he completely disregards my needs and my wishes, but he completely went over my head every step of the way! It’s like nothing I say ever registers to him!” There was another flash of green in those normally so calm and gentle eyes – a split second of rage, but this time Pepper didn’t feel as afraid somehow. Bruce groaned, sagging into his seat again and now rubbing his fingers over his forehead in a circular motion slowly. “…Sometimes I just want to throttle the man, you know? A relationship is based on respect – professional or personal, it doesn’t matter. Tony just acts like I’m his personal doormat so often that I…” Another sigh escaped the scientist, and this time he remained quiet again, allowing Pepper to start getting the man to relax again. There was no way the situation would ever be resolved if he was as tense as he was.  
  
“…Come on, Bruce, just lean back. You’re giving yourself a migraine if you keep this up – or worse, an aneurysm. And I need you in prime condition.” She pushed herself off the desk and walked until she stood behind the scientist sitting in his swivel chair – something he’d only gotten after long and careful persuasion from both her and Tony. Bruce exhaled softly and leaned back, looking up at her – his worried, slightly apprehensive look prompted a small smile from her as she placed her hands gently on his head to massage his forehead and scalp in a slow, gentle way she knew he enjoyed the most. It worked perfectly, as always: a few minutes later he relaxed into the touch completely, sighing contentedly as he did.  
  
“…Mmm, ‘Ginya, you’re making miracles happen…” His pet name for her slipped out so easily that she grinned, allowing her hands to move over the sides of his head down his cheeks and neck to his shoulders, which she gently rubbed as well as she spoke.  
  
“…Tony isn’t doing this for him, you know. It’s not because he wants you to go with him… it’s because he wants you to go, so much so that he is prepared to go with you.” Bruce looked at her incredulously now, tension seeping back into his body, but one press of Pepper’s hands had him relaxing again. “He sees how miserable you are, denying invitations for conventions left and right because of your fear for what might happen if you can’t handle the stress… and I agree somewhat with the both of you.”  
  
“How so?”, he asked – his voice was oddly drowsy-sounding, which was a compliment in its own right because it meant that she had managed to get him to relax again, but still alert – looking at her over his shoulder in confusion. She bent a bit more down to be able to speak to him softly.  
  
“…I agree with you that Tony should’ve asked you first. But I agree with Tony that you should go – the both of you. It’ll be good for you to get out and about among your peers again. Tony is really trying hard to make sure that you can do that with virtually no stress at all, I know that.” Letting her thumbs move up and inward to the base of his neck, she started to massage a spot that she knew would have him purr contentedly. Bruce’s look of confusion turned to one of happy relaxation again, and he exhaled slowly, his eyes closing once again. “…He doesn’t want to disrespect you, Bruce. On the contrary, he wants to show you all of the respect you’re due. And to do that, he wants to return your happiness to you.” She stopped her ministrations, merely letting her hands rest on his shoulders softly, waiting for him to gather his thoughts enough again to reply.  
  
“…He really wants me to go just to make me happy?”, Bruce spoke up, opening his eyes again after a few seconds to look at Pepper. She nodded, swiveling the chair around slowly so she could look the scientist in the eye and so she could very carefully situate herself on his lap, lovingly encircling him in her arms.  
  
“We both do. I didn’t know about Tony’s plan until I found you arguing but now that I know, I can’t say that it’s a bad idea, Bruce. I know how much you hate having to deny all those invitations. When Tony wrote to the Institute, they probably nearly died of shock, I’ll bet. …Tony and I just want you to be surrounded by other physicists for just one weekend again, because it matters to you. And if it matters to you, Bruce, it matters to me…” She placed a soft, almost hesitant, kiss on his cheek before leaning her forehead against his, looking into his eyes lovingly. “…to us.” Bruce’s eyes showed a multitude of emotions before he sighed, closing his eyes again for just a second.  
  
“…I… He…” He shook his head softly, his dense brown hair brushing against her eyebrows and his glasses slipping just a fraction of an inch down his nose so he actually peered over them into her eyes, showing that shade of deep brown that warmed her heart every time. “…Thanks…” He kissed her back, longer and more insistently but still light and loving, and then he leaned his forehead against hers for a second as well. “I… I’ll think it over, okay? I maybe… was a bit too harsh on Tony.”  
  
“I can understand why you reacted, Bruce, but I’m just saying… maybe instead of saying ‘I am not going’, say ‘thanks for the effort, but I don’t feel okay going’? Tony’s probably beating himself up even worse than you are.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back softly, a sign as clear as anything that her efforts had paid off.  
  
“Go up and see if he hasn’t done anything stupid?” She nodded, detaching from him after one last quick squeeze that the scientist eagerly returned, and then got up.  
  
“Yes, because if this is anything like the Valentine’s day incident, he’ll have to start actually working to repay the damages he does… that farmer fortunately was very lenient. A cornfield, what was he thinking?” Both she and Bruce chuckled, the tenseness completely gone from the latter, and Pepper then placed a quick peck on his cheek before heading out and back up to Tony’s quarters, knowing that she’d only fought half the battle so far. Tony always was a much harder nut to crack.  
  
***  
  
“Ah, Pepper.” Unlike Bruce, Tony never locked his doors when angry. However, unlike his lover, the billionaire looked just as he always did, handsome and alert, while it was his tone of voice that clearly showed his anger. It was clipped, Pepper could tell with ease, and his speech was minimal.  
  
A change of strategy was in order.  
  
Normally, the two men talked freely about their grievances, much like Bruce had at her simplest prompt, but now? Tony barely spoke two words to her as she entered his workshop, he didn’t even spare her a glance as she sat down right beside his workbench. He’d shut down, completely blocking out any and all emotion from showing, and that worried her even more than Bruce’s forced shrug had. How to go about this?  
  
“…Hand me that magnifying glass, will you?” His words were clipped and level in tone, and that gave her an idea.  
If you cannot beat them, join them, then beat them.  
  
“I went to Bruce.” Her tone was conversational, her words minimal, but Tony looked up as if she’d spoken sacrilege. She handed him the magnifying glass, seeing a moment of almost painful turmoil before his features hardened again and he turned back to his work. Bingo.  
  
“…I’ll need to weld there and there…” It was clear that he was trying his hardest to not acknowledge her words, and she spoke up in the same tone as before.  
  
“Bruce seems to think you went over his head. …No, you’ll need to weld there too, otherwise you’ll compromise your main thrusters.”, she reacted, and this time Tony’s second of emotional turmoil lasted long enough to be clear. His features didn’t quite become as even and calm as before, and his hand shivered slightly before he took a steadying breath.  
  
“I didn’t know that. …Hmm, you’re right about the weld. So there, there and there. And the backup life support should still work, too.”  
  
“Bruce seems to think you don’t respect him when you do something like that without telling him why. And the backup systems aren’t going to be compromised, yes.” Now, finally, that calm visage broke completely, and Tony looked at her, dropping the pencil he held to make notes on the blueprints on his table.  
  
“Bruce thinks…?!” He frowned and ran a hand through his hair impatiently before sighing and turning away. “I did that to show him respect and he thinks I’m treating him disrespectfully. Again. It figures. He’s just so uptight about the smallest things!” Now, finally, he was acknowledging their lovers’ spat and talking about it, but Pepper felt like they hadn’t hit the source of Tony’s anger with the quiet, unassuming physicist he loved yet.  
  
“He doesn’t consider this a small thing, Tony, sweetheart.”, Pepper said softly, her tone carefully chosen to get the man to vent, and it worked wonderfully well – which, after years of knowing the man, was no surprise anymore. Tony looked at her, eyes wide in surprise, and she elaborated. “And he isn’t exactly uptight for no reason. Until eight months ago, he barely had any control over the other side of him. Until eight months ago, when he met you, he could barely live with the knowledge that he is what he is. You did go over his head, and with good reason, I know, but…” She allowed her voice to trail off, pretending to just gather her thoughts before speaking up, and just as she had suspected, further words were unnecessary as Tony spoke up, his voice sounding affronted and his eyes showing actual hurt.  
  
“I was just trying to do him a favor, because he always turns down those invitations he gets for colloquia and guest lectures and… god! The man just cannot relax for once and just take something when it’s handed to him! I spent  _weeks_  arranging that, and now he just…” He groaned again, pressing his hand to his forehead as he once again bent over the blueprints, but now just to hide his discomfort and anger. Pepper had years of experience in seeing through him, fortunately, and she walked over, placing her hand on his one he used to support himself on the table.  
  
“He just wants you to say that you love him and want him to be happy, Tony, sweetheart. He should know that you did this for him-“  
  
“Well, of  _course_  I did this for him! What, I wanted to torture  _myself_ ? I hate those conventions, I only show my face for the hour or two I’m obliged to and then I run like hell out of there!!” Tony heaved another sigh, pushing himself up and looking at Pepper, his own blue eyes shining slightly with sadness. “…He really… thinks I don’t consider him enough?”  
  
“You show him you love him every chance you get, Tony, but once in a while he just needs to hear you say it, you know? And even then it’s not the big things you do that show it best, it’s the little things. …How long has it been since you took him out for lunch, or brought him something sweet and indulgent from that bakery you always order from?” The man in front of her blinked and then licked his lips, looking away in slight shame.  
  
“…I maybe lost track of things when I was arranging that convention. Maybe.” For a second, Pepper could tell that he was mentally cursing up a storm to himself… and then he looked at her with the same boyish grin she was used to see, and she smiled as well, nodding.  
  
“You can make up for that in a bit. But first, you and he need to talk, I think. You can’t let this hang between you like this, okay?” She grabbed hold of his hands and he kissed her with his usual lack of softness and the enthusiasm to make up for it that he always had. They stood like that for a few moments, pressed together tightly, and then Tony pulled away, letting out a short huff of air as he looked over her shoulder.  
  
“…I need to talk to him right now, don’t I?”  
  
“Yes, you should talk to him right now. Because the longer you two wait to talk things over, the longer you’ll feel bad about this. And I don’t want either of you to feel bad.” She gave him one last light peck on the cheek before taking a few steps back, still holding onto one of his hands to show that tender, loving care she loved to show both men. “…I’ll just go get him up here, okay?”  
  
“Yeah… or wait! I’m coming with you!” Now that surprised her pleasantly. Tony and Bruce had their share of strife, of course – they were just different enough to conflict over things both meaningless and important – but it had always been resolved on Tony’s ‘grounds’. Never before had the businessman actually gone to their lover to make things right. It brought a smile to her face and she nodded.  
  
“Come on then.”  
  
***  
  
Bruce looked up when they entered – first Pepper, which caused him to smile up at her brightly, and then Tony, whose expression of shamed hopefulness only added to his confusion at seeing the man he loved actually inside his lab, looking like a wounded puppy.  
  
“…I… I think we need to set things straight here, Bruce.”, he said, and Bruce nodded, intending to speak up and apologise only to be silenced by Tony raising his hand. “No, Bruce, let me finish, I need to say this! I love you, I love you like Thor loves that damn hammer of his. I need you just like that, too. Only I don’t always show it the way you need me to, and I don’t say it the way you need to hear it. But don’t ever think I don’t love, respect, honor and downright worship you, okay? I do. I do love you, and I do respect you, and everything I do is to make you happy and comfortable.” Now he paused, and Bruce used it to speak up in turn, his voice oddly constricted.  
  
“Tony, I love you too, and… it’s not that I don’t want to go! Especially with you there with me! But I’m so… I appreciate the thought, but I just… I’m afraid.” He sighed, looking at Tony with soft, brown eyes that showed how he felt much better than his words could ever convey. “You’re patient with me, but you need to know that it has nothing to do with not wanting to go, not appreciating your efforts… but you need to understand that that fear has to be a part of me, because if I’m not afraid to let the Other Guy out anymore, that’s when I-“  
  
“Lose control, huh?” Tony finished the man’s sentence with a grin, Pepper noticed, and Bruce’s stunned nod only made his grin bigger. “Bruce, that’s why I wanted to go with you now! I don’t like those conventions, and you know it – but I want to make sure that you can let go of your fears for a few days, knowing that when you lose control somehow… I’ll be there to take control in your stead, okay?” Bruce nodded, and the two stood in silence for a few seconds until both men just took a step towards each other and just grabbed hold, leaning together and sharing a soft kiss.  
  
“I’ll… give me a few days to get used to the idea and then maybe I can just relax into it?”, Bruce offered, and Tony nodded.  
  
“Sure! And if you end up really, really not wanting to go, just tell me and I’ll call you in sick with those guys. It’s not like it’s an obligation or anything.” When both Pepper and Bruce looked at him incredulously, he shrugged. “What can I say, I’m the world’s most sought-after man in just about any field you can think of… what, I’m allowed to use my influence to further world peace but I can’t use it to give the man I love peace of mind?” The grin he gave in the end made Pepper shake her head and wrap her arms around the two men – who instantly let go just slightly to include the woman they both cared for into their embrace.  
  
“Tony, you’re an self-assured idiot sometimes and I love you for that.”, she said, kissing said self-assured idiot on the cheek.  
  
“I have to agree with her on that.”, Bruce added with a soft grin, mirroring her gesture and causing Tony to roll his eyes.  
  
“Okay, what do you two say to a real fancy lunch to celebrate what a self-assured idiot I am?”


End file.
